


Lily-White

by Angel_of_the_Starz



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gap Filler, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 21:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4364423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_of_the_Starz/pseuds/Angel_of_the_Starz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuvira's life from age eight leading up to her title as The Great Uniter. The young earthbender struggles with her abandonment by her parents, being adopted into a new family of high status, mastering her bending, and crushing on her new "brother" while dealing with the facts of life.</p><p>Gap Filler and Canon Compliant</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I - Beginnings

Eight-year-old Kuvira fussed with her hair, brushing it back and fastening it with a green headband, her small pink tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. Once in place, she peeked at her reflection: her dark hair fell a bit past her shoulders, her bangs were brushed to the side behind her ear, showcasing her beauty mark. She nodded to herself before stepping away from the sink.

She held her hand out to the side, her book bag zipped across the ground as if it were being pulled by an invisible string, a metal zipper sticking straight up in the air. The minute it appeared at her feet she bent down and flung it over one shoulder. A few speckles of dirt landed on her school uniform. Kuvira quickly grabbed a lint roller and wiped away the offending dirt. She glanced at her reflection once more, before turning off the light and exiting the bathroom.

Kuvira heard the sounds of dishes and silverware tinkling as she made her way towards the kitchen. Her parents were having a quiet conversation. She paused, waiting for a break to be able to walk into the room. She didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. From past experience, if she ever intruded, her parents would silently stare at her until she left the room. Only then, she would be allowed back into the room with their verbal permission. As she waited, she heard the words “earth bend”, “normal”, “worry,” “leave”, and “school.” Finally, when there was a lull in the conversation, Kuvira sauntered into the room.

She slipped off her book bag and placed it onto the back of her chair at the kitchen table. Picking up a sweater that was folded on her seat, Kuvira slipped it on, careful not to mess up her hair, before sitting down. “Good morning, mother,” she greeted politely. Her bangs fell from behind her ear and covered her right eye. She quickly tried to push it back into place, but not before her mother noticed.

“Kuvira,” her mother answered with a tight smile. After placing a stack of pancakes onto the center plate, she made her way around the table and started to fix up her daughter’s hair. Kuvira winced as her long hair was tightly pulled back into a ponytail, away from her face, before it settled onto her back. She reached out for her fork, noticing out of the corner of her eye, her father’s grip tightening on the newspaper. Kuvira grasped it tightly in her hands before leaning forward and stabbing two pancakes with the metal end. “Good morning, father,” she said quietly.

He lowered the newspaper a bit before smiling in her direction. He nodded once before returning to the article he was reading. “Are you ready for school?”

“Yes.” Kuvira poured some syrup onto her pancakes. She picked up a knife in her left hand, smacking the bottom against the table so that the handle was positioned correctly in her palm. Both of her parents paused, for the briefest of seconds that time. Through the reflection on the serving dish where the pancakes sat, Kuvira noticed a look of fear flashed through her mother’s green eyes. “My bag is right here.” She turned and grabbed the bottom of the bag, proving her statement.

A loud ripping sound filled the room. Kuvira dropped her utensils onto the table, her parents jumping at the sound, and lifted her left arm to find a hole in the sweater.

“It looks like you need some new clothes again,” her mother commented. Her voice was very quiet, and yet it carried a tone of hope.

“I’m sorry,” Kuvira grimaced. She tilted her head back to look up at her mother, her olive green eyes filled with shame and regret. Her mother kissed the tips of her fingers before pressing them to her daughter’s forehead. Kuvira frowned and lowered her head. She picked up her utensils and began eating her breakfast. 

“It’s not your fault.” Her mother insisted. She shared a look with her husband over top Kuvira’s head. “We’ll just have to go shopping after…after school…today.”

Kuvira’s father grunted before lowering the newspaper. He folded it up into a neat square and placed it onto the table. He smiled, reaching over and patting Kuvira lightly on the arm. “Make sure you come right back here once…school…is over,” he said, his smile fading when he said the word school.”

“I will,” Kuvira answered in agreement. After breakfast, she carefully slipped off the sweater, not wanting to cause any more damage to the material, before grabbing her book bag and slipping it onto her shoulders. “Bye mother,” she greeted. She wrapped her small arms around her mother’s waist. In response, Kuvira’s mother patted her on the head before gently pushing her off. “Bye father.” Kuvira rounded the table to her father’s side. Initially she moved to give him a hug, but he gave her a questioning look. Instead, she offered up a smile before holding her hand out. Her father smiled in return and poked her lightly on the end of her nose, before shaking her hand.

Throughout the day, Kuvira focused heavily on her work, learning the tips and techniques of proper earth bending. One of the classroom instructors briefly passed over a passage on metal bending in their textbook. Kuvira sat up straighter as the classroom learned about Toph Beifong being the first metal bender in history. She longed to get up and physically learn the techniques to advance her own metal bending, but as soon as the topic came up in discussion, it was over. While the school was held in high regard for teaching earth bending, it didn’t have enough funding to delve into the sub-bending topics and materials, especially since metal bending is still somewhat considered to be a rare art.

The minute school was over, Kuvira skipped her entire route home. Her dark hair bounced up and down with each foot fall. As her heel came into contact with the ground, a small piece of rock would pop up to the left of her along the sidewalk. Each piece of rock had a thin layer of grass along the top, as well as one flower.

“Mother may like these,” she commented. Along the rest of the way home, every few steps she would pick up a different colored flower. Upon arriving at the house, her forehead became sweaty so that her headband was useless. Her bangs clung to her forehead. She tightly gripped the small bundle of flowers in her right hand as she twisted the door knob and stepped into the house.

“Mother, I’m home,” Kuvira called out. She closed the door behind her and walked towards the kitchen, staring at the ground to make sure she didn’t drop a piece of the flowers. “Father, I’m ready to go shopping,” she announced. Stepping into the kitchen, she paused when she spotted the breakfast dishes still at the table. Her mother would always have the house looking spotless by the time she returned from earth bending school. Kuvira placed the flowers at her mother’s spot at the kitchen table. Moving to slip her book bag onto the back of her chair, she spotted the sweater she had ripped that morning.

“Mother?” Kuvira shouted. She ran out of the room and into the living room, pausing at the entrance. The living room was one of the two spaces in the house she wasn’t allowed to enter. Everything in the room was white and the furniture was covered in plastic. Her parents would sometimes retreat to the living room in the afternoon for something to read from one of the books on the bookshelf. When she found the room to be empty, Kuvira frowned.

Her stomach started to twist and turn, her pulse began to pick up its pace. She ran back to the front door and peaked out the side window. The family’s Cabbage Corps car was still sitting in the driveway. “Father?” yelled, her raising an octave.

When she didn’t receive a response, Kuvira tore around the house, looking for them and calling out: “Mom, where are you?” Every call received no response. She looked in each room on each floor of the two level house. “Dad are you here?” Every room was empty and looked the same as she had left it that morning to go to school. The house was quiet and still with the exception of her heavy breathing and her footsteps as she ran around. The girl searched the house numerous times, ignoring the sky turning dark, ignoring the pangs of hunger deep in the pit of her stomach. Her worry and fear clouded her thoughts, driving her forward in the search for her parents. 

Late that night, Kuvira trudge up the stairs once more. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her throat raw from crying and screaming. Her legs shook with each step, tired and overworked from running around the house. She walked into her bedroom, pulling her baby blanket out from behind her bed. Her parents had insisted she was too old for the item and wanted to throw it away on her either birthday. Instead, she pretended to discard the item, but hid it in her room, pulling it out for when she needed comfort from nightmares or scary sounds.

She exited the room and walk down the hallway towards the master bedroom. Looking around once more, she spotted their car keys were still hanging on a hook on the wall. Kuvira sobbed when she didn’t see their wallets sitting on their dresser. “Mommy,” Kuvira whimpered, stepping into the room. She climbed up onto the bed, dragging her baby blanket behind her. She crawled up towards the headrest, pulling back the sheets before snuggling underneath. She bunched up her baby blanket into a large ball before wrapping her arms around it in a tight embrace. “Daddy.”

Her cries floated gently into the silence, lulling her to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, these chapters can essentially be viewed as chapters and as connected oneshots. Also, I made it so that Kuvira already has a very very basic understanding of metalbending. As for her parents, I wanted to show that they were afraid of her and her abilities, especially metalbending. I hope you picked up on that at the breakfast scene.
> 
> Tags may be/will be updated sporadically
> 
> Let me know what you all think :) [knocking-down-hesitation.tumblr.com](http://knocking-down-hesitation.tumblr.com)


	2. II - Rescue

Nine-year-old Baatar Jr groaned as he was forced to close the book he was carrying. He snapped it shut and held it under one arm, while holding onto a leash in the other, tugging a two-year-old Opal back from pulling on a table cloth. “Mother, may we go home now?”

“We’re not finished shopping yet, Junior,” Suyin answered. She stood back and watched as a six-year-old Huan metal bent a small figurine on the table into a ball. She quickly pulled a few copper pieces out of her pocket and handed them to a worker who rushed over. Suyin handed the ball of metal to her son before patting him lightly on the back, urging him forward.

“I can’t finish my book,” he pointed out, trying to keep a whining tone from entering his voice.

“Then how about you let Huan watch Opal for a while?” she suggested. Huan glared at him before sighing and rolling his eyes. He reached out and yanked the leash from Baatar Jr’s hand. “I really appreciate you offering to help, though.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Baatar Jr smiled.

“Are you ready to trade?” Suyin asked, lightly thumping a one-year-old Wing on the back. She laughed heartily when he let out a loud burb. Lifting him off of her shoulder, she wiped his chin with the sleeve of her dress, before walking over to her husband, Baatar Sr., who just wrapped up milking Wing’s twin, Wei.

“There you go,” he said quietly, passing Wei off to his wife. He placed a kiss to Suyin’s temple before lightly jostling Wing up and down in his arms. He laughed happily before reaching up, trying to grab a hold of his father’s glasses. “What else are you looking for?” he asked, tilting his head out of his son’s reach.

“New dance shoes and then I would like to look at the Trading Market,” Suyin answered, her eyes shining brightly in excitement. 

“Honey, if you add one more thing to the shelf in your office, it will break,” Baatar Sr. said with a chuckle. “You sure do have a nice collection.” 

“The shelf won’t break unless it’s something really light like a cat owl’s feather.”

Baatar Jr walked ahead and pushed open one of the front doors to the store. Huan walked out, tugged out by a squirming Opal, before holding open the other door with one hand, and creating a firm grip on the leash with the other. Suyin happily thanked her two oldest children as she and her husband filed out.

Baatar Jr walked behind everyone, cracking open his book and burying his nose in the pages. He paused when he heard a loud sound come from his right. Looking, he spotted a young girl, barefoot, and in tattered clothing emerge from behind a trash can. The two locked eyes. She glared before holding up a finger and placing it to her lips.

“Mother,” he called.

“Cat Owl’s aren’t around here, dear,” Baatar Sr. said with a laugh. “Even if they were, they wouldn’t have anything to eat. We don’t have a rodent problem.”

“Mother,” Baatar Jr said, a bit louder.

“Yes, I know,” Suyin placed Wei onto her shoulder and began to pat his back with firm thumps, “but if I can find squirrel-toad’s tooth, then I’m sure I can find a feather.” Wei burped quietly, dribbling a little down the front of her dress. She wiped the saliva off of his chin and pressing a light kiss to his nose. 

“Mother,” Baatar Jr cried, tugging on the bottom of her dress. Suyin shifted Wei from one hip to the other, before finally giving him her attention. When he saw her look in his direction, Baatar Jr pointed over down the street. Suyin followed the direction of his pointing and frowned when she spotted a young girl with a long braid snatching a few pieces of fruit off of a table.

“Honey, will you take Wei?” she turned towards Baatar Sr. and placed Wei into her husband’s empty arm. “The rest of you, wait here with your father. I will be right back,” she instructed. Suyin sighed before walking in the direction of the young girl.

“Come on kids, how about we go to that café over there and wait for your mom,” Baatar Sr. suggested. He looked both ways before stepping down off of the sidewalk. Baatar Jr clutched his book tightly to his chest before following. Huan cried out in surprise as Opal darted forward, tugging the leash in his hand.

Suyin made sure to walk on the balls of her feet so that her heels wouldn’t clack along the pavement. The little girl jerked, moving her head to the side. She caught sight of Suyin and gasped loudly, before shoving the pieces of fruit into her bag, and running off down the street, with Suyin close on her heels.

\---

Kuvira cried out in pain as she stepped on something sharp, but she continued to run. Her long pants dragged across the ground, slowly being ripped up by the pavement. Her lungs burned, her chest was tight, and every stepped sent a sharp pain through her core. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the woman was still chasing after her.

She ducked into an alleyway, running around knocked over trash cans, piles of old food, rocks, and broken furnishings. She slowed to a stop at the end of the alleyway, in front of a high wall of wood. Kuvira shifted, bouncing on the balls of her foot, as she searched for an exit. Soon, the sounds of the clacking of heels caught up to her. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she turned around, slipping her bag off of her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Kuvira wailed. She thrust her arm into the bag and pulled out the three pieces of fruit she took from the fruit stand. “I don’t even really want it. Here.” She placed the fruit down onto the ground before quickly backing up. Turning on her heel she ran up to the high wooden wall, trying to find a place to climb up.

“No, honey, I’m not mad,” the woman said quietly. Kuvira wiped her eyes with clenched fists. She took a few deep breaths, calming herself, before turning around facing the woman. She slowly stepped forward, searching her face for any hidden traces of anger. All she saw was traces of worry and empathy

“…Why not?” she finally asked. Kuvira eyed the woman up and down. She kept her distance but slowly walked a circle around her, checking for any weapons of any kind. The woman stood still and patiently. Once Kuvira finished her circle she backpedaled quickly, as if waiting for the woman to strike.

“Where are you from?” the woman lowered herself to the ground. She sat down, careful of the small pool of slime next to her hand, before crossing her legs. She relaxed her shoulders and smiled gently in Kuvira’s direction.

“Yu Dao,” Kuvira muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, lifting her chin. She then blanched, her eyes widening, her bravado shrinking. Her father had told her growing up that she should never reveal where she lives to a stranger. 

“That’s so far away,” the woman commented. “You must be tired, and your parents as well. I hope the train ride was okay.”

“I walked,” she admitted.

“You…” the woman looked down, now noticing Kuvira’s bare feet. They were bright red, a few cuts and bruises lined her heels and were wedged in between her toes. It was also when she zeroed in on the fact that Kuvira was constantly swaying back and forth, trying to keep too from placing too much pressure in one area. “Where are your parents?” she demanded, anger setting in her facial features.

Kuvira pulled her lips into a straight line. She stopped rocking, wincing at the pain that rushed up her calves. She dropped her arms before lowering her head in shame. “Gone,” she whispered.

“Are you lost?” the woman pressed. She looked over her shoulder, frowning as she heard the slight creaking of metal. Kuvira gasped and lifted her head, her eyes widening when she spotted two guards dressed in a suit of armor appear at the entryway of the alley. She held up her hand and slowly shook her head. The two nodded before continuing down the path. “I can help you find them.”

“No, they’re just…gone.” Kuvira began to shake.

“How long have you been on your own?”

“A week.” She shrugged.

“What about food and-”

“We ran out!” she shouted.

“And school?”

“I was going to school,” she whimpered, “but then I needed a form to be signed, so I stopped.”

The woman nodded before slowly getting back to her feet. She walked forward and held her hand out. Kuvira shook her head and retreated as far as she could until her back hit the wooden wall. “Come with me,” the woman said. 

“No!” Kuvira screamed and stomped her foot on the ground. The woman jumped as a trash can next to her crumpled in on itself. She looked at the young girl in shock and surprise. “You’re just going to send me away,” she whimpered as tears began to fall down her cheeks once more. “M-my neighbor tried to s-s-s-send me away. I need fo-o--ood to bring back h-h-h-home. Mom and dad will w-w-w-worry when they see that I’m-m-m-m not th-th-th-ere!”

“I’m not going to do anything sweetie,” the woman said, a tone of pleading traced over her words. “I just want you to get a decent meal in your tummy.”

“I’m not hungry,” Kuvira muttered. “I was saving these…to feed some animals I found.” She marched forward, stubbornly picked up the three pieces of fruit before shoving them back into her bag. She lifted her bag over her shoulder, stumbling by the sudden shift of weight on her back. Kuvira hissed as she regained her balance, pressing all of her weight on the sore on the middle of her right foot.

The two stared at each other, Kuvira with her chin raised, and Suyin with a look of compassion. After a few short moments, Kuvira turned away, blushing furiously as her stomach erupted in a loud growl. The woman’s lips curled up into a smile. “My name is Suyin Beifong,” the woman said quietly. “Everyone calls me Su. What’s yours?”

“Kuvira,” she introduced herself. She then fully faced the woman, her jaw dropping in shock as she repeated the name to herself.

Su nodded before pointing over to the trash can. She carefully picked it up, turning it around in her hands, checking every angle of the crushed metal. “You can metal bend, can’t you Kuvira?”

“Y-yes.” Kuvira nodded rapidly. “…Beifong…Toph.”

“She’s my mother.” Suyin placed the trash can back down onto the ground before taking a small step forward. This time, Kuvira stayed in place. Suyin then took another step, and another, before she walked right up in front of her. She crouched down low and looked up into Kuvira’s eyes, keeping herself at her level, her voice firm but soft and welcoming. “I am the matriarch here in Zaofu.”

“Ma…tri…”

“You can say, I’m a ruler.” Suyin smiled as Kuvira nodded once more. “This entire is city is made from metal. It was constructed by people like you…like us.”

“You can bend metal too?” she gasped.

Suyin couldn’t help but giggle. She muffled it by placing her hand over her mouth when she was met with a harsh glare. “Yes, it’s a special talent to have.”

Kuvira wilted before slowly shaking her head, her olive green eyes dim. “I’m not special. I’m scary.”

“Yes, you are special. You just don’t know it yet, but I can show you.” With that, Suyin held out her hand.

Kuvira looked at Suyin’s empty hand. She grabbed her wrist and flipped her hand over, gazing at the skin on the back, before moving it upwards once more. Kuvira placed her palm into Suyin’s before. She instantly relaxed at the warmth that connected their palms. Suyin took that as a sign to gently close her hand around Kuvira’s, who looked up at her and nodded.

Suyin smiled before leading the two out of the alleyway. With a small jerk of the head, she passed the two people dressed up in metal armor. One quickly rushed in front of them while the other filed behind them, creating a shield. As they made their way down the street, Kuvira began to limp Suyin looked down and noticed the girl had bit her lip, keeping herself from crying out. 

“Would you like for me to carry you?” she asked quietly.

“No,” Kuvira said, taking in a deep breath as she stepped on a rock. “I’m okay,” she wheezed.

“No, you’re not.” With that, Suyin crouched down and picked Kuvira up, cupping her armpits to gain leverage to pick the young girl up off of the ground. She then gently cradled her against her chest, resting an arm underneath Kuvira’s backside to hold her up, while gently running her hand through her knotted hair with the other. Kuvira didn’t struggle or fight the embrace, because as soon as her cheek hit Suyin’s shoulder, she was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! :) [knocking-down-hesitation.tumblr.com](http://knocking-down-hesitation.tumblr.com)


End file.
